Keith Arnold

It took a while for the light bulb to go on, but when it did, Jonas Gray finally showed the talent many had expected from the blue-chip prospect from Detroit. One of the top prep running backs in the country, it took until Gray’s senior season to make an impact on the field, but from…

Notre Dame hasn’t stopped chasing 2012 prospects. But that doesn’t stop the recruiting carousel for spinning, as the lifeblood of college football — not to mention a multi-million dollar internet industry — continues to churn as college programs turn the page to a new year’s worth of recruits. Nothing signals that more than the new…

If Signing Day ended on a dour note, that lull between Signing Day and spring football might be filled with one final pleasant surprise. The Irish haven’t given up on chasing the final recruit on their board, Arizona’s Davonte Neal. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Neal, who led Chaparral High to back-to-back state championships is still considering…

It’s easy to look at the sixteen recruits that signed with Notre Dame last week and place an evaluation on the job Brian Kelly and his coaching staff did. With the last minute defection of wide receiver Deontay Greenberry, the runner-up finish for blue-chippers Nelson Agholor and Brian Poole, and the loss of one-time commits…

Brian Kelly wanted to keep the focus on the players that decided to sign letters-of-intent with the Irish. And with a recruiting class compiled of 16 talented players — a lean class no doubt, but far from a program killer — that sentiment is certainly understandable. But we’ll have four years to judge the talent…

Lost in the shuffle of Signing Day (we’ll get back to it, I promise), it appears Brian Kelly had finalized his coaching staff’s assignments. Tony Alford, after shifting to wide receivers to accommodate Tim Hinton, will head back to running backs coach. Scott Booker, named a full-time coach after Hinton and offensive line coach Ed…

As of last night, Deontay Greenberry had confirmed with the Irish coaching staff that he was set to sign his letter-of-intent with Notre Dame. But as the morning hours roll on in South Bend, the Notre Dame fax machine that awaited the four-star recruit’s signature sits idle. Multiple news outlets have reported a Signing Day…

The faxes will begin rolling into the football offices at Notre Dame before sunrise. With cornerback Tee Shepard, defensive lineman Sheldon Day, and quarterback Gunner Kiel already enrolled in school, the Irish are expected to receive at least fourteen letters-of-intent Wednesday, finalizing a recruiting season that will bring another class of student-athletes into the Notre…

After following the recruitment of a few hundred prospective student-athletes, we’re finally able to see who’ll be wearing a Notre Dame uniform next fall. It’s been a long and winding road, but as of tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. ET, the Irish will start officially accepting letters-of-intent, and making official a recruiting class that’s been…

Part five of our series recapping the recruits ready to sign letters-of-intent with Notre Dame next Wednesday. (Or already on campus.) Previous installments include the running backs, offensive line, wide receivers and quarterbacks. At his first signing day press conference, Brian Kelly all but announced his intent to rebuild the front seven of the defense via recruiting. Little did…

Part four of our series recapping the recruits ready to sign letters-of-intent with Notre Dame next Wednesday. (Or already on campus.) Previous installments include the running backs, offensive line and wide receivers. When Notre Dame named Brian Kelly its head football coach, many assumed that thy were getting a quarterbacking guru. And for good reason.…

Part three of our series recapping the recruits ready to sign letters-of-intent with Notre Dame next Wednesday. Previous installments include running backs and offensive linemen. The shadow that Michael Floyd‘s graduation will leave over the Irish offense likely won’t clear in just one season. (Consider even Floyd’s No. 3 jersey won’t even be in uniform…

Part two of our series recapping the recruiting commitments set to sign letters-of-intent with Notre Dame next Wednesday. Often times, the most attention is heaped on the recruit that got away. That was certainly the case when Taylor Decker, a six-foot-eight, 310-pound tackle that was long pledged to the Irish flipped his commitment to Ohio…

[A few days ago, a commenter mentioned how little talk there was about wide receiver Chris Brown, a freakishly good athlete that’s joining the Notre Dame recruiting class from South Carolina to little fanfare. Consider these columns a response to a very good comment.] In the next six days, the recruiting rollercoaster will surely rumble…

After having his name surface a few weeks ago, Harry Hiestand has officially been named to the Irish coaching staff, replacing Ed Warinner as both offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Hiestand is a 29-year coaching veteran that’s spent significant time in both the NFL and collegiate ranks. After spending the last two seasons…

Perusing the internet last night I stumbled upon two excellent articles written on two terrific student-athletes that Notre Dame is recruiting. While they come from opposite corners of the country, both Nelson Agholor and Davonte Neal have overcome incredible odds to find themselves in a place where they have their choice to attend some of…

Next Wednesday, thousands of college football fans around the country will wake up with it feeling like Christmas morning. That’s because after over a year of building relationships with high school prospects, fax machines across the country will get their annual workout as Letters-of-Intent roll into football offices, with Notre Dame expecting to receive fourteen…

Notre Dame has announced the addition of Bobby Elliott as safeties coach, finalizing the defensive side of the ball and putting into place a veteran coach that’ll replace Chuck Martin’s coaching and leadership. Elliott will team with co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks to work with a secondary that’ll need to replace Robert Blanton,…

There’s been far too much to keep up on with the Arik Armstead recruitment, which has likely been put on the backburner for a few days as Armstead has decided to forgo early enrollment and instead sign a letter-of-intent on February 1 and enroll at the school of his choice this summer. Depending on what…

Notre Dame is set to name Iowa State’s Bobby Elliott the final member of Brian Kelly’s coaching staff. Elliott coached Paul Rhoads’ secondary and was associate head coach in Ames. He’ll likely work with the Irish secondary as well, working with cornerbacks coach and co-defensive coordinator Kerry Cooks on the back end of the defense,…

Rumors swirled yesterday that defensive tackle Sean Cwynar, a key contributor along the defensive line, had been telling classmates in Notre Dame’s MBA program that he wouldn’t be coming back next year to Notre Dame. On Tuesday, Cwynar broke the news to the Chicago Tribune, explaining why he’s walking away from his fifth year of…

Any questions about quarterback Gunner Kiel choosing Notre Dame have been officially answered, as the university publicly announced the addition of four student-athletes to the program this afternoon. Kiel is joined by fellow early-enrollees Sheldon Day, a defensive tackle from Indianapolis and cornerback Tee Shepard of Sacramento, along with USC transfer running back Amir Carlisle.…

You’ve got to hand it to Brian Kelly and his assistants. A year after reeling in the trio of Ishaq Williams, Stephon Tuitt, and Aaron Lynch in dramatic fashion, the Irish are close to landing two of the nation’s most heralded recruits, amidst even more extraordinary circumstances than last year. With the spring semester set…

Ohio State made it official four days ago, when Tim Hinton and Ed Warinner were announced as members of Urban Meyer’s first Buckeyes staff. Hinton, long rumored to be one of Meyer’s targets, will coach tight ends and fullbacks. Warinner will ascend to co-offensive coordinator, adding to his offensive line and run game duties for…